Meditation is a process that entails controlling the thought process so that it can be concentrated on one focus and can benefit the entire system and ultimately lead to the experience of the divine. It may be argued by some people that if meditation has all the curative values does it mean that the science of psychiatry is completely superfluous? The answer to the question is both yes and no. The reason is that it is one of those questions that cannot really be answered in a simple yes or no. It has to be studied in-depth and then only the conclusions can be satisfactorily deduced from analysis.

Psychiatry is an accepted branch of study that deals with the ailments related with the brain and the central nervous system. Also some ailments related with the sympathetic nervous system are also dealt with within the purview of psychiatry. But psychiatry is basically a science that studies and aligns all the ailments and their solutions to the state of the brain. It does in-depth analysis of the thought processes also. But the final outcome is almost always based on many other related factors. It takes the circumstances of a person and many other factors in a person’s environment into consideration while giving conclusions. Since psychiatry is a known science all its processes are scientifically based and it does not believe in anything that is not thoroughly proven scientifically. This, like so many other man made sciences has its own limitations. The processes of the brain are complicated and not everything has been explored and proven. Many things keep changing and evolution happens all the time.

Psychiatry too is a dynamic science like any other stream of science but since it is man made there is a certain limitation always involved that, only till a certain stage it may have been explored and exploited at a certain point in time. It may get upgraded in future and chances are that it will, but still it cannot be called self encompassing at any given point in time. Also the practices of the science are dependent upon the abilities of the consultant. This leaves considerable room for play of human error to operate in the field.

The curative practices used by psychiatry are based on more or less the same principles of meditation but they do not explore the limits as is done during pure meditative practices. In meditation there is no aim. There is no beginning. There is no end. The body is just used as a tool for self-interrogation and communication with the divine, whereas psychiatry is a branch that is purely based on curative practices and curative purposes. There is a definite aim to target a certain problem area and then accordingly the whole session is planned. In meditation since there is no initial or ultimate desire and the seeker is not seeking anything particular it is rather a blindfolded exercise in which the seeker just does not know the final outcome.

In psychiatry not all the patients are the same. They differ according to their individual capacities and potentials and health situations. In meditation all practitioners are treated as equal. Everyone is just the same with similar capacities, only difference is in the kind of thoughts that they experience.

Many healings of psychiatry can be experienced by a person while meditating. The explorations of the brain essentially remain the same. But one must understand a very basic difference. In the process of meditation a person takes complete control of his thoughts and this is possible only when the person is able to decide the rationality or irrationality of his thought process. Psychiatry takes care of disorders that are related with the ego. After the initial barriers are successfully crossed with the help of a consultant and once the person is able to handle himself, on his own he can be gently guided towards meditation. But since the person is suffering from an ailment it may not be possible to immediately allow him to start with the meditation process. At a later stage also it may not be advisable to leave the patient exploring the innermost precincts of his mind. This, if done unscrupulously can cause more damage than good.

The importance of psychiatry as a curative science and as a helpful scientific procedure cannot be negated just because of the availability of expansive horizons of meditation. Meditation cannot impart any quick fix solutions to problems. In fact meditation happens when even the awareness of the problems seizes to exist. Psychiatry can give solutions to a lot of problems and these solutions cannot be called short term solutions although they definitely may be termed as quick fix solutions because they give results within very short durations of time. They are really helpful to the person concerned and make him get over many challenging situations.

Thus, the science of psychiatry and the art and science of meditation can peacefully coexist in an environment, which is obviously flooded with people from all sorts of foregrounds and backgrounds. Each one of these people may be seeking something different and both the processes combined together can definitely give better results to more number of people.

<< Back to Meditation Main Menu